Ride
by wingsofjusice
Summary: This had to be her most extravagant lie yet, to tell Sasuke that this was her son. With Sakura as Hebi's new team medic, they're all in for a hell of a ride.
1. Chapter 1

It had gotten to the point where she was dragging her feet. The fight had been brutal and bloody, she barely had any chakra left over from the extensive healing she had to do.

She had been walking for hours now, the heat nearly suffocating her under her jounin vest. Having not eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, the hollowness in her stomach made her light-headed and dizzy.

But the thing that kept her most worried was the infant boy in her arms. A blonde, with strikingly beautiful green eyes, had been saved from the fight after they learned the babe had been kidnapped. Naruto and Sai decided that they would pursue the band of rogue ninjas while she returned the baby. She didn't mind, the road to this village was long and lonely, but it was also very safe.

It had been a simple enough B-rank mission. Their objective was to stop a band of 'hooligan' rogue ninja group, as described by the Hokage. They had cornered them easily enough, but the complications aroused when they found out that they had the baby of some big time business man, and one wrong move could lead to the fatality of the infant. They had managed to save the baby, but those ninjas had taken that opportunity to escape.

She couldn't help but smile at the small bundle in her arms, he really was adorable. He slept in her arms, and Sakura's only companion was the sound of birds chirping on the summer breeze. Although the heat was tedious, the sun felt nice on the wounds she didn't heal: she had to save her chakra. The sky, a blue that rivaled Naruto's eyes, green was the only color that stretched around her for miles on end. The trees towered over her on the sides, giving off a look almost as if they were watching over her.

Sighing quietly, she approached the base of a looming hill, her legs starting to burn from muscle fatigue. Shifting the baby in her arms she slowly made her way up the grassy hill, a lone cherry blossom on the top. A breeze blew, entangling her hair even more, petals of the cherry blossom twirling all around her. One landed on the nose of the babe, and she laughed as he awoke and grabbed for whatever was tickling him on the nose, and missing since he had yet to develop hand-eye coordination; the infant, so young, yet already so good natured, cooed and gurgled along with her. Her laughing was abruptly cut short when she saw a lone silhouette standing underneath the blossom.

_Sasuke-kun_

She knew he had sensed her long ago, and she should have too, had her energy and chakra level been so low. He stood unmoving, Sakura mirrored that action. She didn't worry about her matted hair, dirt streaked face, torn clothing, or knees slightly buckling from exertion. Instead she stood there, and maybe it was because she finally learned about selfness, but she stood there and wondered solely if Sasuke was ok. If he'd ever be ok.

The silence stretched on until the gorgeous child in her arms started to cry. She watched as Sasuke's back stiffened from the noise. As she murmured comforting words to the child, Sasuke slowly turned around and stared at her.

Sakura didn't stare back into his eyes, or swoon under his gaze; instead her attention was diverted to the vicious wound on his shoulder, sloppily covered up with bandages that long since needed to be changed. She managed to quiet the baby down to a whimpering, and Sasuke finally moved his eyes from her face down the scared infant she cradled against her bosom.

Sakura couldn't explain it, but she felt so hollow, that the light breeze could blow her away as if she were a petal off a cherry blossom; yet at the same time, she felt as if the dread building in her would swallow her up and bury her.

_Maybe I'm going crazy_

She closed her eyes for a second, listening to the chirping of the birds, the rustling of the tress leafs, and the whimpering of the baby. The tranquil setting was too serene….too beautiful for a reunion like this. All Sakura felt was bitterness, and she was sure that whatever Sasuke was feeling, it wasn't happiness. It was as if the fates were laughing at her, putting her in situation like this, just to break her already crushed heart.

"You're hurt." She quietly stated, opening her eyes.

He didn't reply, he just continued staring at the boy, noticing how Sakura clutched him closer. For the briefest second, she saw his eyebrows dip down and eyes narrow in confusion, right before his expression went back to being stoic and cold.

Sh e walked towards him, slowly with a long pause in between each step, arm outstretched. It was almost as if she were afraid that he'd disappear if she touched him. She was just a step away from him when she heard a voice behind her, halting her in her tracks.

"Oh, Sasuke!" The voice exclaimed, "Has pinkie here been bothering you?" The voice questioned, standing now behind her. Sakura didn't need to turn around to know exactly who the owner of that voice was.

_Karin_

Sasuke barely acknowledged her, directing his full attention to Sakura. Time was cruel like that, six years ago, she would have been overjoyed that _Sasuke-kun _was giving her so much attention. Now, all she wanted was to continue and just break free of his cold, scrutinizing gaze.

Sakura felt the slight pressure of a kunai on the back of her neck as Karin waited for further instruction from Sasuke. Sakura knew she could easily defeat Karin, but in this condition, and most importantly, with the _infant_, she was a sitting duck.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke questioned, his tone flat and monotonous.

If Karin applied the slightest bit more effort, she'd cut through her skin. Sakura glanced at the babe in her arms, "I'm going to the nearest village, I have to drop this infant off to an old woman who has agreed to take care of him for a while," she informed, making sure the confidence she didn't feel was in her voice.

Sasuke said nothing, but continued to watch her intently. Meanwhile that damn Karin had pushed the Kunai deep enough to make a cut, and she felt her warm blood slowly trail down her neck, making its way down her shirt. She hid her grimace, and gritted her teeth, her anger slowly filling the empty void in her.

"Who's the kid of?" Sasuke very much barked out, eyes trained on the baby's face once again. Sakura knew the list of Sasuke's enemies was getting longer and longer, and the chances that this baby was the child of one of them were high-she couldn't take any chance.

"H-he…he's me and…Naruto's," She managed to stammer out.

Sasuke's cool manner was momentarily broken as utter shock took its effect, his eyes widening, and mouth slightly agape. He composed himself, but if you looked hard enough, one could still see the slight bewilderment in his eyes. No doubt whatever he had been thinking was completely blown away.

_The bastard must not believe I got over him_

Sakura ignored the pang of pain when she realized that it actually was true, that no, she was not over him. And from the way things were shaping out to be…she didn't think she'd ever be over him. Crushes can be forgotten and gotten over of but love…shadowed your heart forever with its scars, only to remind you of what now are only memories.

"You're to accompany us to the village," he informed, "healing me on the way." The finality in his tone making it obvious that this decision was not up to discussion. His death threat from a few years ago had never been revoked, and she still outstood as a 'bond' that he needed to destroy.

_The minute I'm done healing him-he's gonna kill me_

She had been traveling too long to be broken like this, to be used and thrown away like a piece of paper by the man she loved…_love, _with all her heart. Glancing at the infant in her arms once more, she sighed.

_I've got to do it…this kid _will _see his parents again_

So she nodded, and mumbled incoherently that she'd oblige. The red haired witch stepped from behind her and strode over to Sasuke, a look of disdain on her face, "Some mom you are to leave your so young child with a stranger," she sneered.

_Unless I kill myself on the way there_

**_A/N: _First Real Story on ff...is it any good? I want to continue but we'll see what is to happen with 'em reviews :P**


	2. Chapter 2

_Auld Acquaintances_

It seemed that no matter what Sasuke did, it would backfire on him in the end. When he finally, _finally, _felt as if he was restoring order into his chaotic world, he strains his eyes so much with the Mangekyou that even the simple Sharingan makes the blood vessels in his eyes burst and his vision nearly blinded.

This new factor had proven to be quite a setback what with Hebi's hardest mission yet. The mission, quite simply put was to raise a small army- say 50 rogue Nins or so- to join their forces, against Uchiha Madara.

Sasuke had spent many sleepless nights mulling over the fact that Madara planned to completely destroy the village; the very village that Itachi made his ultimate sacrifice for…the village that once was Sasuke's _home. _He had been ecstatic once, over the thought of hearing the people he once called friends scream anguished screams, to see that wretched place end in flames and burn in front of his eyes. He dreamed of dancing in the ashes atop of their graves, until one day he realized…that was not what he wanted. He did _not_ want his village to be destroyed, and he would _not_ let his brother's sacrifice be spit on by Madara: the bitter loser.

He also didn't really want his friends dead.

They had been on their way to a small village when they had run into a band of rogue Nins. Judging from their formation Sasuke assumed that they were protecting whatever they were carrying- automatically putting them on a defense. He was about to call Hebi off and continue on their way when Juugo went on his sudden rampage, unable to stop. Choiceless, Sasuke had to turn on his Sharingan to subdue Juugo and put him into a hypnotic sleep. Those damn Nin's had taken this opportunity to ram their sword into his left shoulder, leaving Sasuke with a nearly decapitated arm and throbbing eyes.

Not able to afford having Karin low on chakra, he denied her offer to drink her blood. So when she grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "That Pinkie is near!" he had actually felt relief: Sakura would heal him. Inwardly, he was also looking forward to seeing her expression when he told her he would be returning to Konoha soon.

He never thought she would be with a child.

_Sakura…and Naruto…they…I…_

He tried to piece out all this new information inwardly while outwardly he just snapped at her and told her nothing of his plans.

The sound of a man panting broke his thoughts, and he watched as Suigetsu dragged an unconscious Juugo out of the forest and into the clearing. Suigetsu was still muttering until he saw Sakura, and nearly let go of his hold around the larger man's shoulders. Eyes widening he opened his mouth to ask the expected question, but Sasuke cut him short before he could say anything and said, "She's the team medic now."

A shocked silence followed his unexpected announcement, Karin's surprise rivaling Sakura's. Sakura frowned and took a step back, "Who ever said that? I'm just going to heal you on the way to the village, and that's all!" she exclaimed, anger replacing her surprise.

He sighed; he was in no mood at all for this. Deciding that the best way to go was to be blunt he looked at her dead in the eye and said, "You're going to be the team medic because we're recruiting members for the final fight," he paused for a moment, "The final fight against Madara."

§

If she was surprised when Sasuke had suddenly announced that she was team medic, she downright shocked when he revealed that he was planning to fight Madara. That meant he was on Konoha's side again, right?

_Or is he just double-crossing him as well?_

Sakura decided that this sudden change of heart was too suspicious, and said nothing but pursed her lips and scrutinized the boy, no, _man_, in front of her carefully. He looked worn out and slightly in pain, which Sakura knew automatically translated into him ready to collapse. She noticed that Karin was also watching her closely and Suigetsu….

_What _is_ he doing?_

Suigetsu seemed to be undergoing some inner turmoil, looking at the baby in her arms to her face over and over again, confusion and denial on his face. Landing his eyes on her face he hesitatingly asked, "That…the…kid's not yours, right?"

At the nod of her head, his face fell and he groaned, "Why are the good ones always taken?" Sakura could feel heat rise to her cheeks at what he said, and quickly looked away, unsure of what to say. She heard Karin huff and stomp past Suigetsu, stopping only to slap him upside the head in a manner that reminded Sakura too much of her interaction with Naruto.

She hadn't noticed Sasuke stiffening at Suigetsu's comment, instead went over to Juugo to inspect what was wrong with him. Suigetsu hoisted the large man up again and said, somewhat gloomily, "He's just in a hypnotic sleep-nothing to worry about."

Sakura nodded and turned to her new "team" leader, deciding that silence was the best policy around these four. Sasuke took off his shirt and Sakura held in her disgust as she heard Karin give out a slight groan. What was the big deal, so what he had some of the best abdominal muscles she had set eyes upon in a long time? Kneeling down next to him and placing the baby on the grass next to her, she unwrapped the bandage, mentally chiding whichever idiot wrapped his shoulder. Quickly forming the hand seals, soon the green glow of her healing chakra encompassed the gaping wound on his shoulder and Sakura watched as the torn tissue and skin slowly stitched themselves back together.

Soon, the healing process was over and Sakura was about to get up from her kneeling position when Sasuke grabbed her wrist, stopping her from further moving. Scowling he looked off into the distance, not saying anything for a moment while he held her down. Finally, he turned to her and said, "My eyes…they seem to be…strained."

Sakura frowned, whatever was wrong with his eyes probably had to be from the Sharingan, something she had no experience with.

_I have no idea how to help him_

"It's from the Sharingan, right?" She asked, pursing her lips at his nod, "I…I don't really know if I'll be able to help you much besides relieving any pain." She told him honestly. He let go of her wrist and got up, putting his shirt back on. He seemed to be in deep thought and said nothing, still looking off into the distance. Sakura looked down at her toes and felt that awful feeling of being useless all over again, "But," she continued, "If I can maybe get some books or something…I'm sure that this is a problem I can solve." She offered, also standing up and picking up the baby.

Sasuke only nodded and turned to Suigetsu, consulting him and the map he held about which direction they needed to travel in to get to the village fastest. While the two conversed Sakura watched as Juugo stirred, his eyes slowly opening. What happened next was so quick she barely had time to register what just occurred. One moment she was standing with the baby in her arms, the next moment she was lying flat on her back with Juugo on her. Before she had a chance to even say anything the, huge man, who was almost crushing her, was ripped off her by a very annoyed looking Sasuke.

"You are not to ever attack her again," Sasuke growled out gravely, "She is now a part of this team, and I don't care if you like her or hate her but from this point on you are teammates and I expect you all to act like it." He ordered, his gaze resting on every member of Hebi that surrounded her. "We'll make camp here and continue traveling tomorrow morning," he said, before turning around and walking into the forest, "I'll be back soon," he called out before completely disappearing.

Sakura was both thankful that Sasuke was gone and was cursing him inwardly at the same time for leaving her alone with these strange people. Juugo was staring at her through narrowed eyes and Suigetsu and Karin were in some heated argument over something stupid like where they should set up the fire. The baby in her arm started crying and Sakura realized that she should feed him, but she had no milk…

"What's the baby's name?"

The sudden question made her look up abruptly to Juugo, caught off guard by the uncharacteristic question from this dangerous looking man. Racking her brain through a name she found one that she actually quite liked, "His name is Ren," she informed, a smile growing on her face. "Ren, that's my…My son's name," she repeated, more for herself than anyone. She decided that that name was perfect for him, and bounced Ren up and down in her arms, remembering once again she had no milk for him.

"I like that name," Juugo shyly informed her, "Why is he crying?" he asked, peering down at the red faced infant.

Sakura didn't even know Sasuke was back until he walked past her, lying down under a tree a few feet away from her, his back towards everyone. Sakura suddenly remembered a jutsu she had read about, long ago, in a medical text. She hadn't bothered reading in depth about the topic, but now she could remember it clearly. She had, without reason, memorized the hand signs for a jutsu that produced…_natural milk. _The very idea of doing that made her cheeks burn bright red, but Ren's quiet crying did not cease, and _she didn't have any milk to give him._

"He's hungry," she answered him, "And I need to go…feed him now." She forced the words out of her mouth, and turned around quickly so the others couldn't see her bright red face. She again missed the stoic Uchiha stiffening, and this time, his face twisting into an expression of…something close to disgust.

In the forest Sakura sat down on a log and unzipped her vest, face still bright red. Taking a shaky breath she formed the hand seals, and felt the odd sensation start. Holding Ren in one arm, she lifted up her shirt and quickly undid her chest wrappings.

_Okay…I can do this_

§

It was late-probably near four in the morning; daybreak about an hour away, and Sasuke could not sleep. Insomnia was nothing new to him, but the cause of it tonight was something on an entirely new spectrum. Turning onto his back, he glanced at his new pink haired teammate, a teammate who was married and had a small child with her.

Sasuke couldn't deny that when Sakura left to go…_feed_ her _son_,he had felt slightly nauseous. He wasn't stupid, and he knew that Mother's fed their small children…_naturally_. But the idea of _Sakura_ doing that though was enough to make his head spin. He decided that he was having all these symptoms was because his brain was having a hard time accepting the fact that Sakura had moved on from him.

_What happened to the whole, 'I love you with all my heart!', _he scoffed to himself.

He imagined Naruto and Sakura's first date, that moron probably took her out to Ramen. They then probably did something romantic like gaze at the stars, and the whole stupid "kiss me goodbye" at her doorstep. He imagined them walking down the streets of Konoha, holding hands, saying hi to their friends before returning to their conversation. He could see the blonde idiot getting down on one knee, declaring his love for her, and she would probably start crying and say yes, over and over again. His brain skipped to the image of Naruto sitting beside her in the hospital, both staring at _Ren_ like he was the best thing to ever happen to both of them. It all felt so wrong.

Glancing up at the lightening sky, he felt as if a void of darkness, was once again, overtaking him. All the stars in Sasuke's world had been blown out, and he still couldn't figure out why.

It felt as if there were no dawn, no day, just some eerie twilight he was stuck in, and he would stay in the dark until he figured out what had suddenly cast a shadow over his heart.


	3. Chapter 3

_Adjusting Futures_

Sakura was used to having bizarre wake-up calls, seeing that her team mate was none other than Konoha's loudest ninja, Naruto. She was, however, not used to the sound of someone screaming for murder as a wakeup call.

This was exactly how she was awoken, and for a moment Sakura couldn't remember where she was and _who the hell was screaming at the top of their lungs. _The feeling of a warm bundle that was Ren in her arms reminded her of her location, and she sat up, looking at the source from which the earsplitting screams were being emitted. Karin was beating the bloody pulp out of Suigetsu, God knows why, while Juugo and Sasuke looked on irritably. Karin's screaming woke Ren up as well, and the poor baby looked around wildly in confusion before starting to cry himself.

_Well what a lovely morning._

Sighing, she stood up, and shook Ren in her arms in an attempt to quiet him. Last night, she had put some of her..._natural milk_ into a water bottle so she wouldn't have to go through that whole process again in the morning. Putting the bottle to his lips, she let him drink, while watching as Karin hit Suigetsu one last time before taking something out of her bag to eat. Suigetsu muttered something, probably a vulgar comment, and he too took something out of his bag to eat. Juugo seemed to be staring intently at a bird on a branch while putting food in his mouth almost…thoughtfully. And Sasuke...Well, Sasuke had been giving her one of the darkest glares she had seen in a while before turning away when their eyes met.

_No surprise there_

Sakura actually felt a lot better, after a night of mostly good sleep and a decent breakfast. So she didn't protest when Hebi started tree hopping at quite a fast pace towards the village. Besides-the sooner she got Ren away from these Nukenins, the better.

Sakura wasn't all that surprised when she felt suddenly unhappy over the fact that she would be saying goodbye to Ren once and for all. He really was a nice baby, wasn't annoying with loud crying and he sometimes gave her looks of understanding, as crazy as that sounded.

In her musings, she missed the faint smell of ash and smoke as they neared the village, and it was only until they arrived in front of the small village did she realize what had happened.

The entire village had been burned down, and the smell of burnt wood and human flesh plagued the air.

Sasuke turned to Karin, "Check to see if there are any leftover chakra signatures," He commanded. Nodding, the redhead quickly formed the hand seals and closed her eyes in concentration.

A few moments went by before Karin reopened her eyes and said almost in a scared tone, "It was someone…from the Akatsuki."

Sakura's eyes widened at this new information…for one person to destroy an entire village…to kill hundreds so easily…Her breath got caught in her throat when she realized that Ren's parents were citizens of this village as well. This meant…

He was now an orphan.

She vaguely heard Sasuke saying that this village was a clear threat to him; all she could think was that the baby boy in her arms was completely alone in this world. Sakura wondered frantically what she should do with him. She couldn't just deposit him at some orphanage at a random village. Besides, he didn't bother her at all, and was actually quite easy to travel with. He was her responsibility and she would make sure no harm would come to this boy, the answer was clear:

She would have to become his mother.

"What're you gonna do with the kid, Cupcake?" Suigetsu asked, and it took Sakura a few moments to realize that he was talking to her.

_Cupcake, really?_

"Naruto and I…" She started, God, why was it so difficult to act as if Naruto was her husband? "We had decided the relocate Ren since Konoha is going to be so close to the battlefield, he would be safer somewhere father away,"

"So he's just going to come with me now."

She didn't miss the look of disgust on Sasuke's face or the anger on it; no doubt he must hate the idea of an _infant_ on his team. If Sakura knew anything about Sasuke it was that he hated being slowed down.

It seemed that Karin was his personal spokesperson though, when she sighed and said, "Ugh, Your first day on the team and you've already promised to be nothing but an annoyance."

Sakura felt her right eye twitch, and her all too familiar rage rapidly spread from her stomach, making in clench her fists tightly. She was about to go and break that stupid nose of hers when Juugo stepped up and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, "I think Sakura-san is a wonderful addition to this team." He told Karin quietly.

Sakura stared in shock at the larger man trying to find a reason why he would say something…well, something so _nice. _Before she could continue scrutinizing him, Suigetsu piped up as well and said, "Even if Cupcake here is taken, at least she heals the sore eyes you cause with your looks Karin."

Sakura openly laughed as Karin attacked him. Sakura also noted that the redhead had quite a colorful vocabulary of insults she had stored for Suigetsu.

"Let's just go."

Everyone turned to Sasuke and watched as he stalked into the forest before jumping onto a tree, hopping at a speed that Sakura knew would leave her completely drained when they reached their destination.

Wherever the hell it was.

§

Sasuke wasn't annoyed, he was furious. Furious that he would have to see _Ren_ anymore than he already had. He made sure to pointedly ignore Sakura and to not even glance in her general direction as they hastily tree hopped to the next village he had marked on his map. From his short time with Madara, he had learned that Madara had seemed to have skipped recruiting ninjas along the coast line for whatever reason. Perhaps because these areas didn't produce the best of ninjas, but at this point, Sasuke didn't really have many choices.

No matter how much he concentrated, images of his ex-teammates together drifted into his mind, and that didn't help lighten his already dark mood. This time he saw the future, of Naruto and Sakura watching as _Ren _said "Mommy" and "Daddy" for the first time; as they watched _Ren_ walk for the first time; as they sent _Ren_ off to his first day of Academy, and beaming as they heard his teacher gush on about what a prodigy _Ren _was.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he sneaked a look at Sakura and found that she was staring-no, _glaring _at him.

_No surprise there, it's only natural that she doesn't trust me_

Sasuke wondered for a moment what would happen if he killed Ren…that certainly wouldn't go well with Sakura. And though he hated to admit it, and wished there were another alternate, he _needed_ Sakura, and quite desperately too, he noted, as every passing day just resulted in more worn out eyes.

Sasuke sighed; things never went easy for him, did they?

§

Sakura was lost in thought as she absentmindedly hopped behind Juugo. If the Akatsuki was now an enemy of Sasuke…and the Akatsuki was an enemy of Konoha as well…did that really make Sasuke on Konoha's side? The rational part of her said no, that Sasuke was too coy and too far lost to come back to the right path. But a deeper part inside, perhaps her soul, said yes, _yes_, Sasuke was good once again.

Sakura watched the dark haired Nin carefully, wondering whether she should listen to logic or gut.


End file.
